In general, in order to drive a vehicle in an optimum state or to easily detect situations of the vehicle during driving for the purpose of safe driving, various indicators/display parts are mounted in an instrument panel or a cluster provided in front of a driver's seat of the vehicle.
The cluster includes a revolutions per minute (RPM) display part to display RPM of an engine, a fuel efficiency display part, a speed display part to display a speed of the vehicle, an accumulated distance display part to display a total driving distance of the vehicle, a fuel quantity display part to display a residual fuel quantity, etc.
A cluster controller is installed in the cluster and thus displays the RPM of the engine, the speed and accumulated distance of the vehicle, etc., using data transmitted from an engine control unit (ECU) or a powertrain control unit (PCU).
However, the conventional cluster of the vehicle has problems, as follow.
The conventional cluster simply displays the accumulated distance but it is difficult for a driver to know fuel consumptions according to driving of the vehicle and associated fuel costs. Due to such a situation, particularly, during long-distance driving or whenever it is necessary to calculate fuel consumption each month, the fuel consumption should be calculated and a fuel cost per liter should be confirmed, thus causing inconvenience. Such a process causes a difficulty in accurately calculating the fuel consumption, and thus, an inaccurate fuel cost may be calculated.
Further, RPM being closely related to fuel efficiency of the vehicle is displayed separately from the fuel efficiency, and thus, it may be difficult for the driver to detect both the RPM and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle during driving at a high speed.
Further, since only a residual fuel quantity is displayed, it is difficult to determine whether or not the vehicle can reach a destination using the residual fuel quantity, and if the vehicle cannot reach the destination using the residual fuel quantity, to determine how much fuel is additionally required to refuel the vehicle.
Moreover, if the driver desires to reach a specific point, it is difficult to detect a fuel quantity necessary to reach the corresponding point, a cost required to charge the vehicle with the fuel quantity, an expected charging time and expected average fuel efficiency.